News

In her first major casting since breaking out with Cannes hit Emilia Pérez, Karla Sofía Gascón has signed on to star in Las Malas, a Spanish-language adaptation of the dark fairy-tale novel Bad Girls by author Camila Sosa Villada.

Armando Bó, who won an Academy Award for co-writing Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 drama Birdman, will direct the feature and is co-penning the script with Josefina Licitra.

The project hails from About Entertainment, based in Argentina and Uruguay; Infinity Hill, best known for its Oscar-nominated film Argentina 1985; and Suma Content, the Spanish independent global production company.

Gascón will lead the feature in the role of Aunt Encarna, a tough but motherly leader of a group of trans sex workers, whose routine is upset when she finds an abandoned baby and decides to adopt him without realizing she is putting everyone around her in danger.

Girls was the debut novel by Villada,...

New Zealand-based Black Mandala Films has picked up sales rights to “1978,” a horror film that starts with a soccer match.

The film will have its world premiere on Friday at the Sitges fantasy and horror film festival in Spain. It will have its U.S. festival premiere at Screamfest on Oct. 12.

Directed by Luciano and Nicolás Onetti, from a screenplay by Luciano Onetti, Nicolás Onetti and Camilo Zaffora, the story is set during the World Cup final between Argentina and Holland, and against the backdrop of a military dictatorship. A group of torturers breaks into a home and kidnaps a group of young people before taking them to a clandestine detention center. What begins as an inhumane interrogation turns into a true martyrdom: the wrong group of people has been kidnapped. They turn out to be part of a macabre cult guided by an unknown supernatural force and the...

Reboots are a dime a dozen in Hollywood. But with the smashing success of Prime Video’s “Betty La Fea: The Story Continues,” better known in the U.S. by its English version “Ugly Betty,” Amazon found untapped enthusiasm for beloved Latin American IP over 20 years after it first aired, underlining the benefit of international expansion in the midst of the streaming wars.

Created by Fernando Gaitán for the Colombian network Rcn, “Yo soy Betty, la fea” followed the adventures of Beatriz Pinzón Solano (Ana María Orozco), a secretary with braces, bad bangs and an even worse wardrobe, who falls in love with her playboy boss Armando Mendoza (Jorge Enrique Abello). The show followed Betty’s transformation from an eager assistant helping her supervisor hide financial wrongdoing, into a confident and beautiful executive who takes over as president of the clothing manufacturing company where she works — while her playboy reformed into a doting husband.

A sign of Spain’s rising profile as a top market for Prime Video, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, and James Farrell, the L.A.-based VP of international originals at Prime Video, flew to Madrid this week, with the world premiere of “Red Queen” (“Reina Roja”), the series adaption of the first book in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s hit trilogy, taking place on Monday night.

The streamer is rolling off the record-breaking finale of its first weekly live entertainment show “Operación Triunfo,” and has revealed that the top three of the the ten most-watched Spanish Originals of 2023 – “My Fault,” “Awareness” and “Los Farad” – have received on average 80% of streams outside of Spain, reaching a milestone for the international reach of Prime Video’s non-English language content.

“The last 12 months has been a truly remarkable time for Spanish-language content,” said Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios at Prime Video.

With final voting complete, the 96th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 10 and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt. We update predictions through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2024 Oscar picks.

The State of the Race

Most contenders in the race for the Best International Feature Film Oscar broke out of film festivals. Of last year’s Oscar nominees, “The Quiet Girl” debuted in Berlin; “Close” and “Eo” won prizes at Cannes, including the shared Grand Prix and Jury Prize, respectively; “Argentina 1985” premiered in Venice; and the eventual winner, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” debuted at Toronto.

Since the award was created in 1956, the Academy invites each country’s film industry to submit their selection for what is now called Best International Feature Film. The movie must contain primarily non-English dialogue, which may explain why France...

Argentina’s newly elected president Javier Milei is bent on keeping his chainsaw-wielding campaign promise to cut state spending, including scrapping the country’s national film institute (Incaa) and its film schools (Enerc).

His mega draft bill, aimed at reining in Argentina’s hyper-inflation, has prompted more than 300 directors, producers, actors, critics and colleagues from across the world, led by Academy Award winners Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cannes winners Aki Kaurismäki (“Autumn Leaves”) and the Dardenne Brothers (“Rosetta”), to sign a communiqué protesting the far-right libertarian’s proposal.

The other signees include actor-producers Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, Isabelle Huppert, directors Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juan Antonio Bayona, Pedro Costa, Asif Kapadia, Corneliu Porumboiu, Abel Ferrara, Mira Nair, Roger Corman and Isabel Coixet, among many other prominent figures in the global film community.

In a statement, the newly formed coalition Cine Argentino Unido, spearheaded by film director associations,...

This is one of the toughest races to call, and the clock is ticking. So I will proceed with my closing arguments.

Here are five reasons why France’s “Anatomy of a Fall” will win the Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Film on Sunday night over its five co-nominees: “Fallen Leaves” (Finland), “Io capitano” (Italy), “Past Lives” (United States), “Society of the Snow” (Spain) and “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom / Poland / United States).

1. It’s the best place for the Globes to reward it.

It’s nominated in four categories, including Best Film Drama, Best Drama Actress for Sandra Huller and Best Screenplay. It has a “near zero” chance of upsetting “Oppenheimer” for Best Drama, and Huller will faces stiff competition from Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” for Best Drama Actress. With non-English language films having a poor track record in the Globes’ Screenplay field,...

Daniel Grabiner, Amazon’s head of originals for the U.K. and Northern Europe, has exited the company.

He is set to be replaced by Tara Erer, who is head of local original movies for Amazon Studios.

He will formally bow out in mid-October to set up his own production company, Orchard Studios, with ex-The Garden co-ceo Nicola Hill.

The move comes just months after Grabiner was given additional responsibilities and took on the Northern European territories including Germany, the Nordics and the Netherlands. Under his watch Amazon released shows including “Clarkson’s Farm” and the U.K. remake of “Call My Agent,” which was not renewed for a second season.

His boss, Georgia Brown, the former head of European originals, left the streaming platform last year and has not been replaced.

“The exciting news to share today is that Tara Erer will be stepping into Dan’s role, and...

Driving into Spanish-language movies and series, Amazon Studios is hoping to repeat the success of “Argentina, 1985” with big Spanish period production “Hildegart,” starring Najwa Nimri and Alba Planas (“Skam España”), which wrapped production Aug. 19 in Madrid.

“Hildegart” has shot in the Spanish capital filming seven weeks and some days at historical heritage sites such as Spain’s Congress, Madrid’s Puerta del Sol central square, and its Atheneum.

Directed by Paula Ortiz, “Hildegart” is a fact-based tale of the extraordinary and tragic life of Spain’s Hildegart Rodríguez, born in 1914, a child prodigy raised by her mother to be a model for future women, who gave conferences on feminism and sexuality from the age of 11, writing on prostitution, contraception and eugenics – her monograph “Profilaxis anticoncepcional” sold 8,000 copies in one week just in Madrid – and accompanied H.G. Wells when he made a visit to Spain.

Sensing that she was losing control of her daughter – who,...

In what marks the most ambitious film from Peru’s leading producer Tondero and, most likely, Peruvian cinema in recent times, Pedro Almodóvar’s El Deseo, Infinity Hill (“Argentina 1985”) and Tondero have joined forces to co-produce a drama based on the hostage crisis that took place at the Japanese embassy in Lima in 1996.

El Deseo executive producer Esther Garcia and Infinity Hill co-founder/chief creative officer Axel Kuschevatzky were in Lima to attend Tondero’s 15th anniversary festivities and for Garcia to receive a tribute from the ongoing 27th Lima Film Festival, which runs Aug. 10-18.

The still-untitled project has been co-written by Spain’s Alicia Luna and Peru’s Santiago Roncagliolio, Patricia Romero and Lima Film Fest artistic director Josué Mendez who together spent some four years delving into the facts behind the crisis that drew massive international attention at the time.

The incident spawned several works in literature and film.

On September 11, 1973, Chilean military commander Agosto Pinochet orchestrated a coup and seized power over President Salvador Allende. Nearly 50 years later, the undead vampire Pinochet has absconded to the countryside, having faked his death after the end of his regime.

It didn’t quite happen that way, but it’s the fantastic twist of director Pablo Larraín’s gothic satire “El Conde” (“The Count”), the filmmaker’s latest and most ambitious response to the lingering trauma of the Pinochet years. A black-and-white blend of atmospheric silent-era horror and dark humor, the movie confronts the impact of the Pinochet years by transforming the man into a literal bloodsucker who drained the life out of his country.

The Netflix production, which premieres in competition at the Venice Film Festival later this month, adds a provocative new angle to Chile’s relationship with its former ruler. The scope of that history is so vast...

Raekwon of the Grammy-nominated hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan is set to executive produce a new documentary short spotlighting the life of disco superstar Richie Weeks.

“Taking Back the Groove” will showcase the trials, tribulations and success stories of Week’s life. Per the doc’s official logline, “like many Black artists throughout American recording history, his talent was strip-mined to enrich white-owned record labels. Weeks and his manager Jerome Derradji narrate the story of how they clawed back the rights to Weeks’ music and the ongoing fight to restore his legacy and share his music.”

“Growing up in NY, I was around some of the best disco music – I loved it. It inspired me. Richie, and many artists like him, helped influence the culture,” said Raekwon. “What happened to Richie is an example of something that happens all of the time in the music industry. I’m really glad I...

LA Screenings Independents hosted a panel of leading U.S.-based Latino producers who held forth on the challenges of creating Latino projects from the heart of Hollywood.

Organized by C21 Media, the panel kicked off with Axel Kuschevatzky, director-owner of Infinity Hill, a producer of the Oscar-shortlisted “Argentina 1985,” who pointed out the asymmetry of the Latino experience in the U.S. entertainment biz, a persistent conundrum where 19% of the U.S. population is Latino, contributing an estimated $3.2 trillion to the economy, but where its representation on TV, streaming and theatrical hovers between 3%.and 5%.

“We’re earning a lot of money for a lot of people but we’re not reclaiming the business that comes along with it,” Kuschevatzky asserted.

They all acknowledged that Hollywood was undergoing a significant transition, given the writers’ strike and the reset among the streaming services, among other factors.

“The business is undergoing a kind of existential crisis,...

Amazon’s Prime Video has announced a 2023 Spanish production slate which takes in movies and series from directors, writers and above all producers who have set Spain’s box office and global streamer rankings on fire over the last decade.

Talent attached to the three new movies and three series unveiled Tuesday in Madrid at a Prime Video Presents Spain event include “Hildegart,” from the producers of 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” “Un hipster en la España vacía,” produced by Lazona Films, which made ”Spanish Affair,” the highest grossing Spanish film ever in Spain; and “Apocalipsis Z: El principio del fin,” backed by Nostromo Pictures, behind “Through My Window,” the sixth-most watched non-English movie ever on Netflix.

Another title, docuseries “El Circo de los Muchachos” is co-written by Pepe Coira, co-scribe of “Hierro” and “Rapa,” two of the most popular series to date on Telefonica’s Movistar+.

The news slate...

Santiago Miter’s political thriller Argentina, 1985, and the Colombian series News of a Kidnapping, created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, swept the top awards at the tenth Platino Awards Saturday evening.

Miter’s film took home six gongs, including Best Ibero-American Fiction film, Best Screenplay for co-writers Mitre and Mariano Llinas, Best Actor for Ricardo Darín, and the Audience Award.

The film is the tale of Argentinian lawyers Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who bravely prosecuted members of the country’s former bloody military dictatorship. Under the regime, from 1976 to 1983, an estimated 30,000 people disappeared. The pic debuted in Competition at Venice, where it picked up the Fipresci prize, and was Argentina’s entry for the international Oscar race.

News of a Kidnapping (Noticia de un kidnapping) dominated the TV section taking four awards, including Best Miniseries or Series, Best Series Creator, and Best Actress in a Series or mini-series for Cristina Umaña.

Utama wins first awards for a Bolivian film.

In a one-two for Amazon’s original film and TV businesses Santiago Mitre’s courtroom drama Argentina, 1985 took five top honours at the 2023 Platino Awards on Saturday night (April 22), while News Of a Kidnapping from Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García claimed four.

Amazon Studios’ Argentina, 1985 won best Ibero-American fiction film, best actor for Ricardo Darín, best screenplay for co-writers Mitre and Mariano Llinas, best art direction, and film & education in values awards.

Satuday’s triumph here at Madrid’s Ifema Municipal Palace follows Oscar and Bafta nominations and the Goya for best Iberoamerican film.

Santiago Mitre’s “Argentina, 1985” and “News of a Kidnapping,” created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, swept the top prizes for best picture on Saturday night at the 2023 Platino Awards, in a sign of how the global streamers – here Amazon Studios and Prime Video – have lured top-of-their-class talent in Latin America.

One highlight of the ceremony, dedicated to films and TV shows in the Spanish-speaking world, was Benicio del Toro’s acceptance speech of a honorary Platino in which he reflected on being typecast for many years in Hollywood as a Latino actor.

“If I had to play stereotypes, I tried to find the character’s humanity, a sense of complicity, so that audiences felt what my character felt and whilst they’re watching, don’t forget who I am and where I come from.,” he said. “What’s important is to share more than be divided,” he added.

Former Marvel executive Victoria Alonso, who was suddenly terminated last month after being with the studio since the original “Iron Man,” has reached a settlement with Disney over her exit, IndieWire has learned.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Disney and Alonso’s attorney Patricia Glaser did not respond to a request for comment.

At the time of her exit, a studio insider said the reason for Alonso’s firing was because of a breach of contract involving her work as a producer on the Oscar-nominated film “Argentina, 1985.” The film, which was distributed by Amazon Studios and on which she was one of eight credited producers, amounted to a violation of company terms she signed in 2018 stating that Disney employees would not work with competing studios.

The insider claimed Alonso was given numerous warnings to not work on the film or do press on its behalf and did...

Former top Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso has resolved her dispute with Disney over her sudden exit from the company in a multimillion dollar settlement, Variety has confirmed.

The news comes a month after Alonso was fired from Marvel after 17 years at the company, most recently as president of physical production, post-production, VFX and animation.

In the days following the news of Alonso’s departure from Marvel, the reasons for it became a point of major contention. Sources at Disney asserted it was due to Alonso producing and then promoting the Oscar nominated film “Argentina, 1985,” which was made for rival Amazon Studios, in violation of an employment agreement she signed in 2022.

Alonso’s attorney Patty Glaser called that claim “absolutely ridiculous” and alleged that Alonso had been “silenced” and then “terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible.” Sources subsequently told Variety that the action involved...

Victoria Alonso’s work as a producer of the Oscar-nominated feature film “Argentina, 1985” is being cited as the reason to fire the longtime Marvel Studios executive, according to three sources with knowledge of Alonso’s exit. Alonso’s attorney, however, pushed back on that justification — calling it “absolutely ridiculous.”

In a statement to Variety, attorney Patty Glaser, who is representing Alonso in her departure from Disney, instead claims that the executive was “silenced” by Disney, and that she had the studio’s “blessing” to work on “Argentina, 1985.”

At issue, according to the sources, was Alonso’s 2018 employment contract with Disney that prohibited her from working on projects for any rival studios. “Argentina, 1985” — which tracks the real-life trials of the country’s final dictatorship — was produced in part by Amazon Studios, which released the film on Prime Video in October.

Alonso, who was born and raised in Argentina, did...

Updated with statement from Victoria Alonso’s attorney: Victoria Alonso’s surprise firing from Disney and Marvel Studios last week was tied in part to a breach of agreement involving her work as a producer on the Oscar-nominated international feature “Argentina, 1985,” IndieWire has learned.

The former Marvel executive’s involvement on “Argentina, 1985,” which was distributed by Amazon Studios and on which she was one of eight producers, amounted to a violation of company terms she signed in 2018 stating that Disney employees would not work with competing studios, insiders told IndieWire. And as THR first reported, Alonso was given numerous warnings, including after Alonso appeared at the Oscars, not on behalf of Disney and Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” but alongside the director of “Argentina, 1985,” Santiago Mitre.

An insider told IndieWire that Alonso did not seek permission from Disney to work on “Argentina, 1985,” though IndieWire recently reported otherwise, that...

Victoria Alonso’s sudden exit from Marvel Studios on March 17 reportedly “blindsided” the 17-year studio veteran who served as president of physical and postproduction, visual effects and animation production, according to a new report in Variety. However, between a massive surge of new content since 2019 and a perceived decline in quality, some writing may have been on the wall.

Two VFX industry sources who spoke with IndieWire on the condition of anonymity said some VFX artists who worked on Marvel projects faced last-minute deadlines that made it very difficult to produce quality work — and found themselves embarrassed by some of the work they produced. And the sources added that while Alonso was remarkably successful at keeping the VFX pipeline flowing for as long as she did, results became increasingly inconsistent.

While there’s still no official word as to the reason for Alonso’s dismissal, it arrives amid allegations of...

At this year’s Academy Awards, Victoria Alonso was overwhelmed.

The veteran Marvel Studios executive and producer of the nominated film “Argentina, 1985” was stopped on the red carpet, posing for photographers assigned to capture top executives on Hollywood’s big night. But something shocked her.

“Look at this! Two women!” Alonso said of the female photographers hired for the gig. Emotional, Alonso insisted the pair put down their cameras and pose for a photo with her in front of a giant Oscar statuette. As they all smiled, she told them, “We’ve worked so hard to get here and we’re not going anywhere.”

Eight days later, she was fired as Marvel’s president of physical production, post-production, VFX and animation, three individuals familiar with the matter told Variety. The shakeup came as a surprise to many in show business and within the vast Marvel comic book fandom.

Alonso...

After almost two decades, Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso is exiting the company.

Alonso first joined the studio in 2006 as the chief of visual effects and post-production, and co-produced 2008’s “Iron Man” which helped launch the MCU. She additionally co-produced “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” while serving as an executive producer on “Avengers.” The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of Alonso’s exit.

Alonso was promoted to president, physical and postproduction, visual effects and animation production in 2021. She has also served on multiple other Marvel films and Disney+ TV series.

Alonso recently made news as an ambassador for Marvel’s representation efforts, especially amid Disney backing Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022. “As long as I am at Marvel Studios, I will fight for representation,” Alonso, who is gay, said at the time.

Separate from Marvel, Alonso produced Oscar-nominated international feature “Argentina 1985.

Pedro Pascal is a very proud brother.

On Sunday night, the star of “The Last of Us” walked the Oscars red carpet with his sister, Javiera Balmaceda, who had a film nominated that evening.

Read More: Pedro Pascal’s Viral Starbucks Order Gets Approval From Fans

Currently the creative lead for Amazon Originals in Spanish-speaking Latin America, Balmaceda was at the Oscars in support of the Prime Video film “Argentina 1985”, which was nominated for Best International Feature.

Talking about getting the film off the ground, Balmaceda told Variety in 2021, “It’s exciting to be part of such an ambitious project that will take audiences on a journey through a pivotal point in Argentina’s history.”

Read More: Pedro Pascal Talks Baby Yoda And Shares His Favourite Nic Cage Movies While Sweating Out Of His Forehead On ‘Hot Ones’

The film tells the real-life story of how a public prosecutor...

Tim Burton is staying in the Jenna Ortega business, as the ‘Wednesday’ star is currently eyeing a role in “Beetlejuice 2,” TheWrap has confirmed.

The film will be the sequel to Burton’s 1988 comedy classic that also marked his first collaboration with Michael Keaton. He’s expected to direct and Keaton is likely to return as the devious poltergeist-for-hire. Budget and other logistical concerns are still being resolved, so Ortega’s role in the film isn’t a done deal just yet — but if she ends up joining, she’ll be Lydia’s daughter — Lydia is of course the goth teenager from the original film played by Winona Ryder.

If all goes according to plan the film will begin shooting in early Summer in London.

Also Read:

Why Oscar-Nominated ‘Argentina, 1985’ Serves as a Global Reminder of the Need to Fight for Democracy

Beetlejuice confirmed Tim Burton’s hot streak in the 1980s.

With final Oscar balloting closed on March 7, we’re continuing with our sixth annual series of interviews with Academy voters from different branches for their unfiltered takes on what got picked, overlooked, and overvalued in the 2023 award season. Interview edited for brevity.

Generally this has been a lackluster year. The Academy portal helps. For the international films I had to watch eight films, and 15 more in order to vote. It’s a lot easier to do that from the comfort of one’s home, if you don’t live next door to the Academy.

Best Picture

I toggle back and forth between “TÁR” and “Women Talking” with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” a close third. “Women Talking,” I might push to the top because it has less of a chance than “TÁR.”

“TÁR.” I loved it being reversed: not just men behaving badly but women behaving badly. That scene at Juilliard is brilliant,...

“To get nominated (for an Oscar) is sort of like a dream since childhood,” says Santiago Mitre, writer-director of the Amazon Studios film “Argentina, 1985” that was nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature. “I’m even happier about the fact this movie is reaching audiences all over the world. We have a great cinematic tradition in Argentina, and this is an honor.” Watch our exclusive video interview above

“Argentina, 1985” tells the inspiring, fact-based story of a team of lawyers — led by Julio Strassera (portrayed by Argentinian star Ricardo Darin) — who courageously took on the heads of the bloody military dictatorship that ruled with kidnappings and torture during the so-called “Dirty War” in the country between 1976 and ’83. The powerful film, which won the Golden Globe this year for Best Picture – Non-English Language, is designed to reacquaint Argentina and the world with a cataclysmic time more than 40 years...

Since 1961, Argentina has been sending films to vie in the international film race and Ricardo Darin, the country’s most celebrated actor, stars in at least seven of them, including this year’s nominee, “Argentina 1985.” That’s no mean feat but given his lifetime commitment to his craft, perhaps not surprising.

Four of them: “Son of the Bride” (2001), “The Secret in their Eyes” (2009), “Wild Tales” (2014) and now the Amazon Studios-backed “Argentina 1985,” have either been shortlisted or in the case of Juan José Campanella’s “The Secret in Their Eyes,” taken home the golden statuette. Given its wins at the Venice Film Festival, the National Board of Review and the Golden Globes as well as the growing buzz, “Argentina 1985” may again clinch the honor.

Before his international career-launching turn in 2000 heist drama “Nine Queens,” which spawned a Hollywood remake, Darin, 66, had already worked in 35 films, aside from numerous roles in television,...

Martin Scorsese is executive producing Argentine filmmaker Celina Murga’s latest drama, “The Freshly Cut Grass,” which has begun production.

Produced by “Argentina, 1985” producers Infinity Hill, the film stars Oscar nominee Marina de Tavira (“Roma”) who plays opposite Argentina’s Joaquin Furriel in what is described as “an exploration of love, desire, relationships and how society applies double standards for men and women.”

“I came to know Celina [Murga] through Rolex’s arts mentorship program, in which I’d agreed to participate for the 2008-2009 year,” said Scorsese. “I chose Celina among the candidates that were sent my way because I was greatly impressed by her two features ‘Ana and the Others’ and ‘A Week Alone,’” he added.

“I try to see as many pictures from around the world as I can, and I found both films unusual in subject matter, extremely subtle on a dramatic level, closely tied to...

Mexico’s Yalitza Aparicio, Oscar nominated for her career-launching turn in Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” and Infinity Hill, producers of the Oscar-nominated Argentine drama “Argentina 1985,” have boarded sweatshop thriller “City of Dreams” (previously titled “Dreamer”) as executive producers.

The drama features a stellar cast that includes Golden Globe nominee Diego Calva (“Babylon”), Chile’s Alfredo Castro (“From Afar”), Mexico’s Paulina Gaitán (“Narcos”) and Jason Patric (“The Lost Boys”).

The directorial feature debut of helmer-scribe Mohit Ramchandani, “City of Dreams” is produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Mandoki (“Innocent Voices), Jon Graham (“The Vault”) and Kyle Stroud (“In Full Bloom”).

Drama will have its world premiere at the Mammoth Film Festival where it closes the event on Sunday, March 5.

Inspired by the 1995 El Monte California sweatshop raid, “…Dreams” follows a young Mexican boy who aspires to become a soccer star. His dreams are upended when he’s smuggled across the...

When she was a teenager in Buenos Aires, Victoria Alonso never imagined being an executive producer at Marvel. And now that she’s spent 17 years at the studio, she could see “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” being nominated for five Oscars — but she never envisioned that in the same year she’d also produce an Oscar-nominated international feature, “Argentina 1985.”

As Marvel’s president of physical production, Alonso spends her days meeting on multiple projects at every stage — from location scouts, casting, and visual development to costumes, visual effects, editing, score, and casting. “Every day is mayhem and a privilege,” said Alonso. “Every day is, ‘What happened now?’ And, ‘Oh my god, that is awesome.’

Alonso always wanted to make her version of Luis Puenzo’s ‘The Official Story,” which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1986. “I’ve made a lot of stories about superheroes,” she said. “And...

Top Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso felt it was important to get behind Santiago Mitre’s film “Argentina 1985” because the story is a reminder, “that if we don’t create a memory with our art, chances are this will happen again.”

Alonso was speaking as part of Variety’s FYC Fest: The Producers. She was joined by fellow producers Malte Grunert of “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Cleona Ní Chrualaoí from “The Quiet Girl.”

“Argentina 1985” focuses on the true story of how a public prosecutor, a young lawyer and their legal team set out to prosecute the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship. “This was an important legacy to do beyond the fact that it is about your everyday superheroes,” Alonso said.

Speaking to the importance of why it was necessary to tell the story of “All Quiet of the Western Front,” the World War...

Paris-based Haut et Court has closed French distribution rights with sales agent Film Factory Entertainment on Victor Erice’s ”Close Your Eyes” (“Cerrar los ojos”), the legendary Spanish director’s return to feature film direction 30 years after Cannes Jury Prize winner “Dream of Light” and a half century on from his milestone debut, “The Spirit of the Beehive.”

“Beehive” is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made. “Light” was chosen by the world’s cinematheques as the best film of the 1990s. “Close Your Eyes” reunites Erice with Ana Torrent, a wide-eyed mite in “Beehive.”

One of the most awaited Spanish films of 2023, it will be released in Spain by Avalon Films, the producer-distributor of “Alcarràs.”

“Close Your Eyes” turns on a famed actor who disappears while making a film. Many years later, a TV program airs the final scenes he shot, the beginning...

The notable former prosecutor in The Hague talks about the courtroom drama showing the legal takedown of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship, which is tipped for an Oscar

A lifetime spent putting mass murderers behind bars has not shaken Luis Moreno Ocampo’s conviction that if given the proper communication tools, humanity can overcome hatred.

“It’s about people, about continuing to build civilization – if not, we’re just tribes with atomic weapons,” the former international prosecutor says in a Zoom interview from his home in Malibu, California.

Moreno Ocampo not only helped jail the bloody generals of his native country’s 1976-83 military regime – a historic role portrayed in this year’s Oscar-nominated film Argentina 1985 – but afterwards he went on as chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in The Hague to charge Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur and secured a 14-year sentence for...

Lukas Dhont was in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel on the morning that the Oscar nominations were announced. Being in a public place helped calm his nerves as he waited to find out if his gentle, observant movie “Close,” which has received acclaim since it won the runner-up Grand Jury Prize at last May’s Cannes Film Festival, would be nominated for Best International Film.

The news was very good. “I didn’t have a big night’s sleep, I must say,” the 31-year-old Belgian director told TheWrap. “It’s all a weird thing. You try to get as many people as you can to see your film, but then it’s also nerve-wracking, waiting to see if we got nominated. But from the moment I heard our film’s name, I jumped up and screamed a bit. I hope I didn’t scare anyone in the hotel.”

He added,...

The BAFTA Awards nominations announced on Thursday, January 19, have completely ignored the awards season favourite, ‘Rrr’, although India can take solace from the fact that Shaunak Sen’s documentary, ‘All That Breathes’, is in contention for the trophy in its category, up against favourites such as ‘Navalny’ and ‘All The Beauty and The Bloodshed’.

S.S. Rajamouli’s epic period drama, ‘Rrr’, lost out to ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’, Golden Globe winner ‘Argentina, 1985’, ‘Corsage’, ‘Decision To Leave’, which got for Park Chan-wook Best Director at Cannes, and ‘The Quiet Girl’.

The BAFTA favourite seems to be the World War One drama, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (German/English), which leads this year’s nominations with 14 nods, tying with ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ as the most-nominated non-English language film in the awards’ history, reports ‘Variety’.

The Netflix drama – for which awards chances have quietly gathered steam over the...

S S Rajamouli’s film ‘Rrr’ was named as the Best Foreign Language Film at the Critics’ Choice Award here, and the filmmaker was seen posing with the honour at the ceremony. A video shared on the handle of the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards showed Rajamouli posing for the shutterbugs with the trophy.

“The handle Cheers on a well deserved win @RRRMovie,” the caption read.

In the clip, he is seen dressed in brown kurta paired with a khakee coloured pants with a red and grey muffler.

‘Rrr’ was contending against films such as ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, ‘Argentina 1985’, ‘Bardo’, ‘False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’, ‘Close’ and ‘Decision to Leave’.

‘Rrr’ stars Ntr Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody and Olivia Morris. It centres around two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, their fictional...

Los Angeles, Jan 16 (Ians) After bringing the Golden Globe, filmmaker Rajamouli’s magnum opus film ‘Rrr’ has won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

A tweet from the handle of the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards read: “Congratulations to the cast and crew of @RRRMovie – winners of the #criticschoice Award for Best Foreign Language Film. #CriticsChoiceAwards”

‘Rrr’ was contending against films such as ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, ‘Argentina 1985’, ‘Bardo’, ‘False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’, ‘Close’ and ‘Decision to Leave’.

‘Rrr’ stars Ntr Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody and Olivia Morris. It centres around two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, their fictional friendship and their fight against the British Raj.

Set in the 1920s, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into...

After bringing the Golden Globe, filmmaker Rajamouli’s magnum opus film ‘Rrr’ has won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A tweet from the handle of the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards read: “Congratulations to the cast and crew of @RRRMovie – winners of the #criticschoice Award for Best Foreign Language Film. #CriticsChoiceAwards”

‘Rrr’ was contending against films such as ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, ‘Argentina 1985’, ‘Bardo’, ‘False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’, ‘Close’ and ‘Decision to Leave’.

‘Rrr’ stars Ntr Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody and Olivia Morris. It centres around two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, their fictional friendship and their fight against the British Raj.

Set in the 1920s, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began the fight for their country.

One of the most surprising upsets of the Golden Globes on Tuesday night was Argentina, 1985 winning the best non-English language feature honor, beating out the bookies’ favorites, including Netflix’s German war drama All Quiet on the Western Front, Indian box office smash RRR and Cannes festival winners Close and Decision to Leave.

The win of a Golden Globe puts increased awards focus on Santiago Mitre’s historic legal drama, which follows the story of the real-life prosecutors who put Argentine’s military on trial for the crimes of state terrorism committed during the country’s bloody dictatorship.

Argentina, 1985 now looks like a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination in the best international feature category, though its Globes rivals — and critical favorites, including Ireland’s The Quiet Girl, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Polish drama Eo and Ali Abbasi’s newly-relevant Iranian feature Holy Spider — will provide stiff competition. But, following the Globes win,...

As India bagging a Golden Globe for the number ‘Naatu Naatu’ has made headlines, the Indian attire sported by the ‘Rrr’ family too grabbed eyeballs at the prestigious event. ‘Rrr’ brought home the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in Motion Picture for the song ‘Naatu Naatu’, however, the film lost out the bigger share of the pie – that of the Best Motion Picture Non-English award to the Argentine film ‘Argentina, 1985’.

It was Ram Charan, his wife Upasana, M M Keeravaani, his wife Srivalli S S Rajamouli and his better half Rama Rajamouli, who unlike any other global star chose to flaunt the Indian wear at the ceremony.

Ram Charan looked every inch dapper in an all-black Kurta paired with straight pants and sunglasses. His wife Upasana dolled up in a printed saree.

Rajamouli chose a black kurta, red dhoti pants and a crisp red dupatta while his wife Rama,...

Cue the #filmTwitter discourse that the Globes don’t matter — or do they?

On a redemption tour that’s left the HFPA more vulnerable than ever, the Golden Globes returned to NBC, with host Jerrod Carmichael’s refreshing twist on awards ceremonies emcees, in which he delivered spicy Scientology jokes and told Steven Spielberg he watched “The Fabelmans” with Kanye West, and it “changed everything.”

Despite Carmichael, the production wasn’t revolutionary enough to signal that a format with dwindling ratings is about to mount a comeback. The 95th Oscars’ producing team and host Jimmy Kimmel will need to keep trying to crack that code.

So what did we learn about this year’s Oscars landscape?

In terms of winners, the evening gave presumed Academy Awards frontrunners a platform to plead their cases to voters in the room and to a televised audience, especially with Oscar voting beginning on Thursday.

While the S.S. Rajamouli directorial ‘Rrr’ bagged the Golden Globe for Original song, it lost out the bigger share of the pie — that of the Best Motion Picture Non-English award to the Argentine film ‘Argentina, 1985’.

‘Rrr’ was India’s big hope at the Golden Globes this year, but it left the Indian community and the diaspora with a bittersweet feeling as it bagged one award out of two nominations — Original Song ‘Nattu Nattu’ but failed to secure the trophy for Best Motion Picture Non-English.

‘Rrr’ was nominated alongside Korean romantic mystery ‘Decision To Leave’, German anti-war drama ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, historical drama ‘Argentina, 1985’, and French-Dutch coming-of-age drama ‘Close’ in the Non-English category.

‘Rrr’, which has become an international phenomenon with a collection of over Rs 1,200 crore (approximately) worldwide, stars Ram Charan and Jr Ntr in the lead roles.

As for ‘Argentina, 1985’, the film...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday that 301 feature films are eligible for the 95th Oscars, which includes presumed contenders such as “Elvis,” “The Fabelmans” and “Living.” This number of movies marks an increase from last year’s 276 films that were eligible from 2021, and down from 366 in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

All expected contenders are listed on the Academy’s annual Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 95th Academy Awards, including the performers eligible for consideration in the acting categories.

The highest-grossing movies of the year including “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Top Gun: Maverick” are among the robust list, while critically acclaimed features such as “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Tár” is also in the mix.

The streamers are well-represented with Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Glass Onion,” Amazon...

After landing two Golden Globe nominations, making it to the Oscars long list and winning a handful of the early awards season trophies, ‘Rrr’ is now one of the 10 films in the race for the prestigious BAFTA award in the ‘Film Not in the English Language’ category.

And it is not the only Indian contender to figure on the long lists, which were released on Friday night by the British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Delhi-based Shaunak Sen’s documentary, ‘All That Breathes’, is also on the long list in its category.

‘Rrr’ is in competition with ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, ‘Argentina, 1985’, ‘Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’, Cannes 2022 Grand Prix winner ‘Close’, ‘Corsage’, ‘Decision To Leave’, ‘Eo’, ‘Holy Spider’, ‘The Quiet Girl’ and ‘Rrr’.

The BAFTA Film Awards unveiled this year’s longlists for 24 categories, according to ‘Variety’, and in the lead...

BAFTA has unveiled the longlists across all categories for its 2023 Film Awards, and Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy The Banshees Of Inisherin and Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front lead.

Martin McDonagh’s impressive Banshees haul includes Best Director, Film, and Screenplay nods while Colin Farrell is up for Leading Actor and Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, and Kerry Condon were handed Best Support Actor and Actress nods.

Charlotte Well’s festival favorite Aftersun appears on eight lists, including Best Film, Director, and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Other titles that are well represented today include Oliver Hermanus’s Living and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.

In notable snubs, James Cameron’s Avatar sequel The Way of Water did not make either the Best Film or Director longlists. The box office hit is absent from all major categories but shows strongly in craft categories, including Sound and Special Visual Effects.

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Argentinian director Santiago Mitre and actor and producer Ricardo Darín recently sat down for a THR Presents conversation, powered by Vision Media, to discuss their film Argentina 1985, the titular country’s submission for the best international feature Oscar.

The Amazon original film revisits the historic 1985 trial of the military junta that ruled the country with an iron grip from 1976 to 1983, ruthlessly quashing dissent and disappearing more than 10,000 people, by some estimates. Darin stars as Julio Strassera, the world-weary chief prosecutor tasked with building a case against the generals after they relinquished power following the election of President Raúl Alfonsín. Reminded of the fragility of the restored democracy by constant death threats against him and his family, Strassera deemed it essential to involve Argentinian youth in the effort to turn the page on the dictatorship and assembled a team of relatively inexperienced but...

Ceremony set for February 25 2023 in Los Angeles.

Tom Cruise will receive the Producers Guild Of America’s (PGA) David O. Selznick Award for his role as producer on this year’s 1.48bn global smash Top Gun: Maverick.

The action sequel marks the higest-grossing release of Cruise’s career and that of 110-year-old Paramount, which is giving it a hefty awards season push across multiple categories including best film and lead actor.

Cruise will receive the honour at the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards on February 25 2023 at The Beverly Hilton. The Selznick Achievement Award recognises a producer or producing team “for...

A truncated Panama Int’l Film Festival (Iff Panama) wrapped Dec. 4 on a high note, with the debut doc-feature “Nación de Titanes” by Panamanian Joaquín Horna Sosa snagging the Audience Award, a good indication of its box office potential.

One of only four Panamanian features in competition, “Nación de Titanes” follows six wrestlers during Panama’s golden age of wrestling during the ‘60s through the ‘80s. Doc-feature stars wrestlers Sandokan, Ricardo Díaz, El Greco, El Titán, Cronox II and Johnny González as it chronicles the ups and downs of their respective careers and digs into the origins of the sport.

The three-day festival had encouraging news from Culture Minister Giselle Gonzalez and Panama City Deputy Mayor Judy Meana who both pledged their continued support for the festival.

Pituka Ortega Heilbron, chair of the festival board and foundation, noted that the festival was operating at a fraction of its normal size...